• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.450-452
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• 2010

A 4-year-old male Yorkshire terrier was referred to us with signs of vomiting and unconsciousness due to a blunt head trauma. Gross examinations detected facial edema, subcutaneous hemorrhage and hypersalivation. A survey radiograph located an occipital fragment which was displaced caudally. A three-dimensional computed tomographic reconstruction demonstrated that the ventral portion of the fragment was attached incompletely. Because of the instability of the fragment, it was decided to perform an esquillectomy. After removing the fragment, the defect was reinforced with a muscular flap originating from the splenius muscle. The patient's condition gradually improved except for a slightly ataxic gait. At 20 months follow-up, there was no evidence of ataxia. The neurological status did not deteriorate before starting surgical intervention, although the patient sustained a skull fracture with severe intracranial hemorrhage. It is likely that the fragment being displaced outwardly played an important role in preventing an increase in intracranial pressure which could have led to neurological deterioration.